I am serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Guatemala Retalhuleu Mission.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Alive!

Whats happenin my fam.

How are we?? Alive??.... yeah me too.

Well I sure had a good week, it was full of walking, teaching, preaching, and a ton of hard work. Man I´m super tired and my body hurts. But it´s all good, I´m so glad I´m here... it´s super hot, and the rainy season FINALLY ended. I´m lovin it.

I don´t remember everything about the week, but I will try to tell you a little bit about it all.

We are finally finding new people, people that are progressing, and I´m learning how to be more persistent. I´m loving this area. There aren´t many paved roads, but It´s fun to have dirty shoes all day. There is a hole in the side of my shoe, so sometimes dirt gets in, but it´s better than water! That´s next on my to do list, new shoes. (dont send me any, too expensive) I just have to be diligent in my search.

This week we were able to go to another area in our district called La Noria. We went there to serve a little bit. Man, was it hard work. On Wednesday we went and started building a kitchen, we put two big bamboo sticks in the ground, then we went out to a place where there are a bunch of palm trees called a palmera. We took a ton of machetes and we cut all the palm leaves off and used the stick in the middle of the palm leaves... we are talking BIG palm leaves, taller than me. (once again, the email system wont let me send pictures, I don´t know why!) Each one of us got about 7 and then tied them together and carried them on our backs to the house.... 7 is really really heavy. There are to be used as a wall, you just tie them together.. we didn´t help with that, i dont know why.. but we didn´t. But when we were in the palmera was when there was THE EARTHQUAKE!!!!!! I was the first one to feel it, we were all standing around trying to cross a river, and the ground SHOOK! craziness. I took a picture right after it happened of my surprised face. It was intense. But here in La Nueva we are too far south, nothing fell down or anything. But us north is all shaky.... plus yesterday there was another earthquake, we were in the middle of a lesson, and once again I was the first one to feel it. We just sat there, the one yesterday wasn´t as bad, but there are just some crazy times!!!! Just know that I´m ok and alive and everything!!

Other great story - Last Sunday we didn´t have any appointments, we were just contacting, but I was a little bored.. I saw a drunk guy talking to himself on the side of the road and trying to fix his bike chain, se we went to go talk to him. We fixed his bike chain and I told Elder Barnes we were going to baptize him. Well... I wasn´t kidding, he went to church yesterday and we are going to help him stop drinking. He really liked church and understood a lot, when we went to visit him yesterday he told me all about it, I was stoked.

I also spoke in church yesterday, it was good. I love speaking and teaching in church, I guess you could say it´s my talent (and all this time I thought I didn´t have talents!). But after I spoke, our branch president pulled me over and asked me to teach Sunday School cause the teacher didn´t show up. Of course I said yes... I love that stuff. I feel like when I don´t prepare, I learn more and enjoy more.

I love being a representative of Jesus Christ. The work really is speeding up, signs of the times. I know the only way we can live with God again is through our obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Faith, repentance, baptism, recieving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end (aka the sacrament, and obedience) ((that was all REALLY hard to write in English)). I know that we have a living prophet on earth, and anyone that doesn´t believe it, doesn´t believe that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is. He loves us. Even in the hardest times He helps us more than we realize.

I love you so much, Dad, Mom, Kelsey, Corey, Brookie, Elder Jensen 2.0, and Oakley. I miss you all so much, Be good this week, and don´t worry about me.

ps this week some member gave us Tacuasin... it´s like a rat, but the size of a small dog... and I ate it. yum